Pretense
by Belladonna-Veilsin
Summary: AU Ludwig is visiting a military contact when he sees a new slave who seems to have an inexplicable hold on him. The boy easily worms his way past the barriers that Ludwig has used to keep people at a distance for most of his life. And Ludwig can't decide what kind of fortune has brought Feliciano to him. GerIta


**I don't remember precisely when this idea started forming, I just all of a sudden had to get it typed out, and I figured I'd post it, see what you think. Let me know, if you are so inclined.**

**Summary: AU Ludwig is visiting a military contact when he sees a new slave who seems to have an inexplicable hold on him. The boy easily worms his way past the barriers that Ludwig has used to keep people at a distance for most of his life. And Ludwig can't decide what kind of fortune has brought Feliciano to him. GerIta**

(-)

It started when he was paying a visit to a merchant's household. The merchant supplied the military with many things they could not acquire legally, so the higher-ups had sent Ludwig to keep a more personal and diplomatic relationship to keep their supply steady.

He passed the door to the kitchen on his way to the merchant's back office, and heard an angry girly shout. The butler tried to get Ludwig to keep going, but the German had to stop and peek in the swinging door. He saw all of two seconds of a struggle between a male servant and what appeared to be a wild boy.

Then the boy got loose and bolted for the door. Ludwig hadn't been ready for it, and he was knocked back and lost his balance. His head hurt, and he dimly noted that the butler had grabbed the wild boy and had him pinned quite effectively to the wall. The boy's brown hair was in disarray and he wore nothing more than a pair of ragged shorts.

As Ludwig sat up he glared at the boy. "Let me go, let me go!" the boy kept repeating, his accent very much Italian. And now Ludwig saw that the boy wasn't wild, he was desperate. He was cornered and subdued, but he wasn't submitting. This boy was a slave.

Ludwig was only dimly aware of the slave trade. He thought there might be some slaves working in his house, that his housekeeper might have bought, but if so, he hadn't been able to differentiate them from the regular servants. Slavery was almost everywhere, but Ludwig had never seen a slave like this. The slaves he had seen seemed complacent with their lot in life.

He heard the butler quietly threatening the boy, "Tonight your master is going to show you who's in charge of your life now. If you wish to be able to walk tomorrow, stop this, and I won't tell him about it."

The boy lost some of his fight, but he still looked defiant. "Mr. Beilschmidt, my deepest apologies for that." the butler said. "We haven't broken in this slave yet."

Ludwig wasn't watching him. He was watching the boy's eyes widen when he said "broken in". And then they closed tightly and he shook, eyes now growing damp. While this seemed to satisfy the butler -he let up on the boy, but did not stop restraining him- Ludwig felt unaccountably dismal. He didn't know why this one boy was affecting him more than looking into the eyes of people as he killed them.

He concluded that it was the hideously intimate nature of the violation obviously planned for the boy. It just seemed incredibly evil to inflict that kind of damage on a person. At least when he killed people, that was it for them. Done with this world, onto the next.

But the lingering mental and emotional damage of being raped...he couldn't even imagine. "How new is he?"

The butler eyed him. "Freshly caught and untrained; we bought him this morning."

"Perhaps I could talk Mr. Beliso into selling him to me? My chef has been wanting to train an apprentice for a while now." Ludwig told the man. "The boy is Italian, and they raise their children with a very good fundamental grasp of cooking."

"I'm not sure you'd want this one." the butler said with disdain. "So far, he's been nothing but trouble."

Ludwig met the eyes of the boy, who was watching back with wary uncertainty. "What do you think? Would you cause trouble if all I wanted you to do was cook?"

The boy shook his head vigorously. "I like to cook."

The butler sighed. "Well, let's take him along and you can talk to Master Beliso about it."

They all went to the back office, where George Beliso seemed confused as to why the representative of one of his biggest clients was walking in with the cute little slave boy he had bought that morning and come to regret.

"Mr. Beilschmidt, so good to see you. I hope my troublesome new acquisition hasn't caused you any grief."

"_Nein_, I was actually interested in purchasing him to give to my chef for an apprentice."

Beliso's eyebrows went up. "A **cook**? You want to make a **cook** out of him?!" He pointed at the boy, as if the notion was ridiculous.

Ludwig affected a confused expression. "He's Italian. He'll be fine for that."

Racist though the sentiment was, it was also readily acceptable, but Beliso wasn't accepting it yet. "But the whole reason I bought him was his beauty. There are better uses for someone who looks like that."

"I have no better use than training him to be an able chef." Ludwig replied.

Beliso rolled his eyes. "So be it. The child was becoming a nightmare in any case."

Ludwig smiled tightly. "Good. We can discuss price and then get to our business. If your butler could have him waiting for me near the kitchens, I could just get him on my way out."

Beliso nodded and flicked a hand at the butler. The butler bowed and began to pull the boy out when Ludwig added, "I expect him to be unharmed. And, boy, I expect you to behave."

The boy nodded vigorously. As the door closed behind him and the butler, Ludwig settled in to negotiate price.

(-)

When the boy was settled in the back of the car with Ludwig and his driver took off, Ludwig felt like he should say something. "I hope you'll be happy at my house. My chef really could use some able help, even though that was mainly a pretense for Mr. Beliso."

The boy blinked at him. "What?"

"Well, I mainly couldn't stand around while something like that happened. It's repugnant."

"Two men having sex bothered you enough to buy me?"

Ludwig growled in irritation. "_Nein, du Idiot_! He was going to **rape** you. Unless I misread the situation and you were eagerly anticipating what would have happened tonight."

The boy shook his head. "No, never! But...I just didn't think you would be so...nice..."

Ludwig gave the boy a harder look. He looked a little embarrassed and surprised. Ludwig ignored the boy's comment and asked, "How old are you? What's your name?"

"Feliciano Vargas, 17." the boy told him.

"17?" Ludwig asked skeptically.

His skepticism pulled a petulant irritation from Feliciano. "I haven't hit my growth spurt."

Ludwig chuckled at that. "Better hurry."

Feliciano stuck his tongue out at Ludwig, something a normal slave would never have done. And Ludwig found himself liking this spirited young man. Which really made him not want to discuss what came next, because part of it was likely to make Feliciano draw away from him.

"Feliciano, there's a problem. I had to call ahead so that my house can make accommodations and so that my chef will know to expect you tomorrow, but Mr. Beliso was in the room when I made the call, so I had to mention what your original purpose was. And given how quickly gossip goes through my household, I'm sure people will be saying that I've bought a bed slave. They'll either make cooking a side-note or forget it entirely. That's how gossip is."

"You can call me Feli. And why is that a problem?"

"Because a man of my status has certain...standards that he must hold to. And if I've bought a bed slave, I need to be...using him. Since I won't do that, and since letting everyone know I'm not claiming you would leave you vulnerable to the advances of others, I propose that you live in my rooms, and cook. Nothing else."

Feliciano cocked his head at Ludwig. "Would we share a bed?"

Ludwig felt an absurd blush rising in his face. "_Ja_. Bringing in a second would be suspicious."

"But you don't want to fuck me?" Feliciano inquired further.

Nearly choking on air, Ludwig was shocked to hear that word coming from that innocent mouth on that angelic face. "_Nein_!"

A grin spread across the teen's face. "Yeah, I believe you now. You're too shy, obviously, to molest or rape me."

Biting back a growl, Ludwig noted, "You're pretty cocky for a kid who was helpless and crying while receiving threats of rape."

Feliciano frowned at him. "Well, I'm a coward. Are you contradicting my statement? You're not too shy to molest or rape me?"

"I'm too ethical and disciplined to molest or rape you." Ludwig corrected haughtily.

The young slave considered that, then said, "I'm glad you saved me. If I have to be a slave, I think you're the master I want."

Red spread over Ludwig's face again. "It's not a big deal. If I do have any slaves at my house, they're just like servants. People with duties and thoughts and feelings."

"And my duties are cooking and warming your bed?" Feliciano asked, a sly grin spreading on his face.

"_Gute Gott_! Don't say it like that!"

Feliciano laughed. "I like you. You're funny, and you aren't as mean as you try to seem."

"_Ja_, I bought you for the chance to entertain you." Ludwig snorted.

Narrowing his eyes shrewdly, Feliciano asked, "How much was I worth?"

"An amount of money that I don't feel inclined to disclose to you." Ludwig replied coolly. The truth was, he hadn't had much trouble haggling with Mr. Beliso to get Feliciano at a very low rate. Though the boy hadn't wanted to be there in the first place, it couldn't be good for his ego if he heard how little he was worth from a purely monetary perspective.

Ludwig found himself wondering why he cared about the boy and his ego. "Is that because it's high, or because it's low?" the boy pressed.

A cold blue steely gaze was the only answer he got. Feliciano recoiled. "I just wanted to know." he pouted, sounding stung.

"Anyway, if someone asks you about your relationship to me, reply vaguely or outright lie. Can you do that?"

"I think so." Feliciano said, a small smile on his face.

"_Gute_. And you come to me if **anyone** gives you trouble." Ludwig said firmly.

"Because I'm yours?" Feliciano asked.

Ludwig glanced at him. "_Ja_, you're mine. I have taken responsibility for you."

Feliciano eyed him up and down for a moment before he hugged the German. Caught by surprise, Ludwig had an arm around Feliciano in reflex, holding him close. Which was odd, because Ludwig, as a rule, did not hug. Not since he was a young child, really.

"I **can** hug you, right?" Feliciano asked quietly, his voice a murmur at Ludwig's neck that made him shiver. "Hugs feel nice."

"_Ja_, they do." Ludwig agreed just as quietly. He had long forgotten just how good hugs felt. "You can hug me. Just not in public."

"Bad for your tough-guy image?" Felicano guessed, pulling back a bit and smiling mischievously. "So you want me to give you purely private hugs?"

Ludwig shivered independent of any breath on his neck. "Don't say things that way." he growled, no real anger behind the words.

"What way?"

"Like there's something between us."

Feliciano frowned. "There isn't something between us?"

"_Nein_! I told you already, I don't want you that way." Ludwig said firmly.

The younger man abruptly withdrew from his embrace. Ludwig could tell he had stung the boy. Feliciano drew his knees up to his chest and hugged them tight, not looking at Ludwig. It made him look painfully young.

Ludwig didn't know what he could honestly say to make the boy feel better. He already told him that he wouldn't take advantage of him. But the boy was acting like that was what he wanted! It didn't make sense.

"Feli...are you a virgin?"

The boy looked up at him with wide eyes. "Mostly."

Ludwig raised an eyebrow at that. "Mostly? How is that?"

Feliciano blushed and murmured, "I'm not unfamiliar with other bodies, but I've never been penetrated."

Ludwig felt uncomfortably warm now. He wanted to ask more, but it felt inappropriate after assuring the boy he wasn't interested. "Are you?" Feliciano asked quietly.

Blush rising, Ludwig replied, "_Nein._"

"So you penetrated someone? Was it a boy or a girl?" Felciano asked, looking keenly interested.

Blush overriding his natural skin tone, Ludwig said, far too calmly, "I was with a man."

Feliciano smiled at him, and the German felt warmth in his chest, something he hadn't experienced for many years. "Why are you asking all of these questions, Feli?"

With a blush now dusting his cheeks, Feliciano looked shy as he said, "I like you. You're a good man."

Images of burning corpses and people shot in the head, shower heads that spilled lethal gas, and rooms filled with stolen belongings flashed through Ludwig's head. He shuddered. "Nice is different than good."

The young man looked concernedly at his new owner and asked, "What is that supposed to mean?"

"People can treat you well, but that doesn't make them a good person. It just makes them a nice person. And a nice person to you mainly, at that."

"You aren't nice to others?" Feli asked, looking interested.

"Not especially. You're just..." Ludwig didn't know how to finish that sentence.

"I'm just what?" Feliciano prodded.

Ludwig groaned. "I don't know."

"Special?" Feli suggested. "Am I special?"

That earned him a glare. "Do you need a label?"

Feliciano considered that and shrugged, "I suppose I still like being 'yours'."

Ludwig blushed and a long sigh escaped him. "_Sie werden mich t__ö__ten._" (_You will kill me._)

The boy didn't understand what he said, but he cocked his head and replied, "_Voi valete la mia vita._" (_You are worth my life._)

The German looked at the boy and huffed, mussing the boy's already wild hair. "We'll get you a bath and new clothes when we get to my house, _ja_?"

"_Ja_!" Feliciano agreed with a grin.

(-)

Ludwig had left Feliciano in the care of his chef, Elizaveta. He was finishing up some paperwork before he went to bed when there was a knock on the door. "_Eingeben_."

"I hope that means 'come in'." Feliciano said, peeking his head around the door.

Ludwig blinked. "_Ja_. Did you need something?"

"Well, Elizaveta told me that if I didn't want to wait all night for you to come to bed, I should stop by your study and get you." Feliciano explained. Ludwig only then took note that the boy had a white handkerchief tied over his hair.

"What are you wearing?" the German asked suspiciously. Elizaveta was squirrely and wily on the best of days.

Feliciano walked all the way into the room. He was wearing a green dress with a petticoat and babydoll sleeves covered by a white apron. He had on long white stockings and black Mary Janes and Ludwig thought he felt his heart stop for a moment.

"Elizaveta gave them to me. Aren't they cute?"

The German felt his pulse rapidly speed into his pants and felt certain that his chef wanted him dead.

(-)

**What do you think? Acceptable? Good? Entertaining? Let me know, it really does help encourage me to keep going. ^_^ (Next update might take a bit of time.)  
**


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